


Dreaming the Life

by christian_hayes



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Band Fic, Deceit is called Simon for reasons, Other, Remus will be added later i started writing this in february, also a teacher AU, aroace patton, band au, don’t ask, shoutout to the analogince discord
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 00:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20666000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christian_hayes/pseuds/christian_hayes
Summary: Roman, Logan, and Patton all live perfectly normal and regular lives teaching drama, english, and history, respectively. But when the new music teacher turns out to be really hot and the first person capable of dating Roman, their lives get flipped around.Glimpses of both past and present intertwine throughout the story as every chapter consists of two.





	1. Jones County Education // Very Shirtless

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Jones County Education

September 7th 2015

===============

Virgil was pretty sure he would never forget the first day of work. It had been a warm September day in 2016 when he started at his new job as a music teacher. It was everything he used to claim he didn't want to do, but now that he was here, he wasn't doubting for a second that he was supposed to be here. He didn't know the high school since it was in California and he'd grown up in Georgia, going to high school in Jones County, notorious for its bad education. He fiddled with the zipper on his jacket as he gathered courage in his car. It had been a gift from his friend Remy for his twenty-first birthday in late 2014 and was the only thing Virgil really cared about.

He breathed deep one last time and got out of his junker, pulling his bag along with him. It was too new, the bag, all shiny and pristine and unlike everything else Virgil owned and he hated it. Hated how much it contrasted with his old sneakers and worn shirt. With his ripped jeans and hoodie. Hated how it was clean and everything else his family had wanted him to be. Oh, how his mother would cry if she could see Virgil now, and Virgil almost wanted her to still be alive, just to see that.

He shook his head to clear his mind and stepped into the school, making a beeline for the music classrooms. Socializing wasn't really his thing and if he could avoid his new colleagues, even if just for the morning, that would be the peak of his day.

He opened the door and flicked the light switch, sighing as the room illuminated. This was going to be home. He set his bag down on the desk and looked around the room. No pens in the ceiling or discarded sheet music on the floor. No writing on the desks or broken keyboards on the tables in the back. No, everything was clean and Virgil hoped the classes were as destructive as he had been in high school. Well, maybe not that destructive. He smiled fondly at the memories before mentally running through his lesson plan and dumping his things onto his desk.

===============

Very Shirtless

September 7th 2018

===============

"Virgil, you ready?" Roman called from outside the dressing room. Virgil cleared his mind and got up from the couch, walking out of as a response. "Great! Let's go, the others are already waiting." Roman, who was very shirtless, had that shine in his eyes that he only got when they were about to perform. He was quieter that normal as they walked towards Logan, Patton, and Simon, who were already waiting for them. Emile was massaging Logan's neck, which had been hurting for weeks, and Remy was talking to the head technician. Pat seemed pretty ready and Simon already had his bass in his hands. Virgil picked up his own guitar, as did Roman, and moved his fingers over the frets briefly, making sure not to actually play since their guitars were already plugged in. Roman was being handed a microphone and he let his guitar hang as he did a final few vocal warmups.

"Don't warm up too much, Roman, keep something for the stage." Remy warned him without even turning to them.

"Alright everyone's ready, you're on in thirty seconds." The tech guy told them and they nodded. Emile let got of Logan, who rolled his neck and rolled back his shoulders.

The cheering had steadily grown in the past minute of darkness. And now here they were, First Ache, the new up-and-coming "emo band" that was taking the community by storm. Just a bunch of high school teachers on a stage.

The lights flashed as Virgil's expert fingers moved over his guitar. He'd long since tuned out the screaming. The only thing he could hear was the rest of the band, and he was eternally grateful for that. Not just because he needed to get his timing right, but also because hearing Roman's voice and Logan's keys and Patton's drums and Simon's bass really grounded him. This wasn't his thing, being on stage. He much preferred playing for the others or nobody at all, to just play his heart out to the ocean or an empty forest or a pretty skyline. To serenade the stars like Roman did, or whisper-sing to himself like Simon did, or hum to the plants like Patton. But he was on a stage, in front of thousands, and he was playing and it was going well. And besides, it had been almost three years, it was nearly too late now.

But hey, there were worse jobs, like being an English teacher.


	2. Unfulfilling // Nostalgia

===============

Unfulfilling

September 14th 2015

===============

It had only been a week when it started. Only a week before the rest of their lives started. And it started with an English teacher who got bored during a free period and decided to go down to the music classrooms.

This was Logan's second year teaching at this school. Only his second year and already the job was unfulfilling. He wasn't sure what it was; the kids were fine and he'd been excited for it back when he'd been in college. But now that he was here, he couldn't help but wonder if this was it. If this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He pulled himself out of his head and started trying to focus on the essay he was grading again. His most troublesome had been told to write an essay over the summer vacation, and Logan had been told to grade it. The problem was that this kid's writing style was so all over the place as he jumped from subject to subject, that Logan quickly grew tired of it. He was moving his hands along the desk before he knew he was doing it. It wasn't a difficult piece, just something he'd learned as a teen, but he found that his hands always started moving as though they were playing whenever he got distracted.

He tried for two more minutes to get through the essay before he got up. He didn't know where he was going, maybe just a walk around the school or a visit to Patton. Logan considered it for a moment. Spending the rest of the hour with hyperactive Patton and his equally cheery history class? It wouldn't be the first time he did, but this time it wasn't what he wanted. Not what he felt he needed. It wouldn't improve his happiness all that much, so why do it?

As he was lost in thought, his feet lead him to the music classroom. He only cleared his mind when he was stood in front of the door. He didn't hear anything inside, so he opened the door. Empty. Logan thought for a moment before deciding it probably couldn't hurt to play the piano in the corner for a bit, so that's exactly what he did.

He let his hands dance along the keys, the familiar melody rising up out of the instrument. This was the only time Logan experienced and showed emotions; when he was playing. He occasionally wished he was holding a violin on some of the notes that could use a vibrato. Or a brass instrument or woodwind. He'd heard all of them play this particular Concerto before. They always sounded so beautiful and emotional and like they were living it, living this sorrow. Logan felt like he couldn't truly do it justice on a piano. No vibratos or cracked notes or sounding like you're choked up.

He supposed it was only fitting. Him playing an instrument on which it was so difficult to show emotion.

===============

Nostalgia

September 14th 2018

===============

Logan's hands moved over the keys with a practiced ease as he talked to Remy. He didn't need to pay attention to play, he hadn't in a while; not when it was this piece, at least. Remy suddenly pressed his finger to his ear.

"Sorry babes, tech needs me." He kissed Logan's cheek and walked off, leaving the former English teacher on his own, surrounded by the music. At least, until Virgil walked in.

"Do you not know any other pieces or are you being sappy?" He asked, gaining a frown from Logan. "Y'know, since it's how we met?" Virgil explained as he pulled up a chair.

"Right, yes, I suppose I was... nostalgic."

"It's a nice piece. I remember playing it for a project once."

"Are you aware of the story behind it?" Logan asked, and Virgil shook his head. "Well this is the second part of the piece, but it is by far the most famous one. It was written for the composer's deceased daughter. The first part sounds brighter, but she died before he had the chance to finish the piece." Logan explained as he finished the piece.

"That's kinda beautiful and also kinda sad." Virgil just said.

"Yes, I suppose there is some... beauty in it. The minor key makes it sound sorrowful while the change to major symbolizes acceptance."

"And then the final few bars are in minor again." Virgil nodded before thinking for a few seconds.

"And the last few bars are minor again." Logan confirmed.

"I presume that is to showcase that those we lose never truly leave us." Logan commented.

"If only they would, then I'd never have to hear my mother screaming at me again." Virgil huffed as he got up. "I gotta go warm up. I'll see you out there." He said as a goodbye.

"Goodbye, Virgil."

He played a couple more pieces, none of which made him feel the warmth that Concierto de Aranjuez made him feel. But that was just how life was. And for now, life was getting on a podium and playing alongside his friends. Alongside these people he truly, secretly, loved very much.

Maybe he wasn't nostalgic, simply happy.


	3. Messing With the Snare // Getting Ready

===============

Messing With The Snare

September 17th 2015

===============

"Does it have to be a spoken scene?" The question came from the back of the class. Roman almost didn't hear it over the chatter from the rest of the drama class.

"No, but it has to be significant to the arch and require acting." Roman replied to the freshman. It had been a week and a half since the school year started and Roman figured it was time for their first project: playing an emotionally significant scene. All the kids had split off into groups, and Roman was proud to see his sophomores, juniors, and seniors all mixing with each other. All the freshmen were sticking to their friends as expected, but that would change soon enough. The group that had asked him if it could be a musical scene were approaching him now, asking if they could go to the music classroom to use the instruments.

"If you wait one second, I'll walk with you. I haven't talked to the new teacher yet." Roman told them. He looked at the room again to make sure everything was going okay, and no fights seemed to have broken out. Yet.

Knocking on the door felt weird. He was a teacher now, he didn't have to. But not knocking also would've felt weird. He could hear music coming from the other side and opened the door. Immediately he realized just how great the doors were at keeping the noise imside, because music was being blasted at such a volume that Roman wasn't sure how the man messing with the snare hadn't gone deaf yet. He was sat with his back to the door, and Roman decided to just pause the music. The freshmen looked terrified and impressed at the same time. The new music teacher immediately looked up and behind him, spotting Roman standing by the board with four kids following him like lost ducklings.

"Hi, I'm Roman De Naraja, I'm the drama teacher." Roman introduced himself.

"Yeah, hi, um, I'm Virgil Tâchant. Music teacher." Virgil seemed uncomfortable as he got up, snare still in his arms. "Sorry, I was just working on something, what do you need."

"Oh well my class is working on an assignment, and this group wanted to do something from a musical. I was just wondering if they could use your instruments?"

"Oh right, well, yeah, they can but the snare is acting up so I need to fix it first. What do you guys need to use?" Virgil addressed the teens now as he walked past them to set the snare down on the desk, which was flooded with paperwork and parts of instruments and Roman was pretty sure he spotted an entire trumpet underneath a jacket.

"Just two guitars." One of them replied.

"What kind?" Virgil asked, now moving to the storage space.

"Nothing electric." Roman warned his students. He remembered last time someone decided it was a good idea to bring an electric guitar into his classroom. It had not ended well. Definitely not Logan's brightest.

"You need a bass?" Virgil called from the other room.

"Yes, please!" The same kid replied, and Virgil walked out with three guitars.

"Here you go, feel free to practice here."

===============

Getting Ready

September 17th 2018

===============

"Roman, we should be getting ready." Logan whispered. Roman didn't reply, he just kissed him. "Roman, I mean it, the others will be wondering where we went." Roman finally let him go. So what if they were wondering; everyone thought they hated each other anyways. And it wasn't like they'd started this because they didn't hate each other. More like the opposite. They were bored and single and aggressive with each other, what else were they supposed to do. Logan pushed himself off of the floor and moved his neck a bit, wincing at some angles. "I'm starting to think that that stunt of yours did more harm than it did good."

"Oh come on, you enjoyed it."

"In the moment, perhaps, but Emile keeps asking questions."

"Just say you fell out of bed or something." Roman shrugged as he, too, got up. He ran a hand through his hair to make it look better, and threw Logan's shirt and tie to him.

"I have been saying that, but he says it should have been over by now." Logan pulled his shirt over his head and straightened it out. He quickly tied his tie as Roman did a final few vocal warmups. Logan cracked his fingers before putting on his shoes and leaving the room, leaving Roman behind.

And that was fine, that was just how they worked. They made out or hooked up, then they left and pretended nothing happened until the next time. Rinse and repeat. Sure, sometimes Roman wanted more, but that wasn't Logan's thing. But it was fine, because Roman wasn't as lonely as he could've been. As he used to be.

It was fine.

It was not fine.


	4. Do You Concur // Agree on Certain Things

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Do You Concur

September 17th 2015

===============

"The test is next week, don't forget it, kiddos!" Patton called after his class as they left. It was five minutes until the bell, but Patton always felt bad for them; classes were so long and he remembered being in high school. It wasn't fun. He set up the powerpoint for his next class and pulled out his phone to check his texts. Just the usual texts of his roommate, Emile, asking what he wanted for dinner and Roman yelling about some emergency in the groupchat.

_Guys SOS, the music teacher is hot_

Was all the message read. Patton rolled his eyes fondly at the blurry picture that was attached. Every few weeks Roman would text him something like that.

You mean Virgil? I met him last monday.

Logan's reply came in.

_And do you concur?_

I suppose he is not...unpleasant to look at.

**Well now I have to meet him!**

Patton typed out before the bell rang and he quickly put down his phone and waited for the next class to arrive.

"Come on in, kiddos. Since we already went through my entire talk yesterday, you'll be doing a worksheet today. I have to go do something so Elliot, you're in charge." Patton told the, before handing them their worksheets. Elliot saluted and Patton smiled back. He grabbed his phone and left the classroom, trusting the juniors to take care of themselves. The door to the next classroom was open and Patton could hear that there were no kids inside. He popped his head in and greeted the social studies teacher sitting at the desk, doing something on his laptop. "Hey Simon, could you maybe watch my kids?"

"Is this because Roman said the music teacher is hot?"

"Pshh, no." Patton laughed nervously. Simon just raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, so maybe it is. I can't help it, I'm curious."

"Ugh fine, but you're buying me lunch tomorrow." Simon said.

"Homemade good enough?"

"If Emile makes it, yes. He knows what I like."

Patton smiled and bade him farewell before continuing his journey to the music rooms.

He knocked on the door and waited.

After a minute, he just opened the door. He could hear students on the other side and figured the teacher just hadn't heard him. He opened the door to absolute mayhem. The seniors had transformed the classroom into an absolute mess. Music was blaring as a couple of kids played along on electric guitars and drums. One senior seemed to notice him.

"Hey mister Loukkasin!" She greeted him.

"Valerie, where is your teacher?!" He yelled over the music. Valerie shrugged.

"Went to get coffee, probably. He's addicted to caffeine." She told him and Patton quickly left the classroom and started towards the teachers' lounge.

On the way there, he bumped into an unfamiliar man in a hoodie and ripped jeans. He seemed like the type to be a music teacher, and Roman had definitely been right. He was good looking.

"Hi, I don't believe we've met." Patton said with a big smile as he held out his hand. The other held up his two coffees.

"Can't shake your hand right now, but I'm Virgil Tâchant." Virgil told him.

"Nice to meet you Virgil, I'm Patton Loukkasin."

===============

Agree On Certain Things

September 17th 2018

===============

"Where the fuck are they." Virgil said for the fifth time that minute.

"I'm sure they'll be here in a bit, Virgil. Maybe Logan's fighting his tie again and Roman is helping him." Patton oroposed, trying to calm the guitarist down.

"Tie or not, if they're not here in two minutes, they're fired." Remy grumbled, sipping his coffee after that. He winced slightly as he drank it, which seemed odd since he was always drinking coffee.

"You okay kiddo?" Patton asked, motioning to the coffee.

"Yeah, mixed it with a red bull." Remy shrugged and kept drinking. Virgil nodded and suddenly pulled on Patton's sleeve as Logan and Roman started approaching them from the changing rooms.

"Look who decided to join us." Simon muttered, but Patton didn't miss the amount of tension releasing from his shoulders.

"I apologize, my tie and I did not agree on certain things." Logan said, shooting a glare at Roman for some reason.

"Whatever, just be on time next time, I was pretty sure Virgil was about to pass out. I was prepared to offer him my coffee." Remy scolded them.

"We should be late more often, might just make a good person out of you yet." Roman joked.

"In your dreams, De Naraja."


	5. To Chill // I Made Eggs

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To Chill

September 18th 2015

===============

Simon remembered when, on his last day of high school, he had motioned to Virgil and told his friend "there goes one person I'll never see again" but nope. There he was. Somehow, like God was playing some cruel trick on him, they'd both ended up with a job at the same school, all the way across the country. He'd hoped he could avoid Virgil for at least a bit longer than two weeks, but no. Roman had brought him to the bar. The bar where the four of them hung out every single Friday. Because of course he had. Roman sees a hot guy, Roman brings the hot guy, Roman sleeps with the hot guy, that was just how it worked. So, Simon was sat cross from Virgil Tâchant while both of them pretended like they'd never met.

"I thought you went to the same high school?" Logan questioned when Virgil and Simon introduced themselves to each other. Virgil shot Simon a panicked look.

"Yes we did, but I'm a year older so we didn't really talk much." Virgil raised his left eyebrow slightly at the smooth lie.

"You're not older, I got held back once."

"But I was a year above you."

"Are you guys sure you didn't know each other?" Logan interrupted their bickering.

"By face, but not by name." Simon quickly explained, not breaking eye contact with Virgil until Roman came back with their drinks.

"Okay, just grab what you ordered, Talyn needs the tray back." Roman told them, handing Virgil his drink. Their hands lingered just a bit too long and Simon rolled his eyes. Yeah, those two were for sure gonna fuck later. He needed more ace friends, this was getting annoying.

"So I'm not the only one who is less fond of that?" Logan whispered beside him.

"Nope. But you just don't like PDA."

"Yes, I am aware that I cannot relate to your experience but I agree with you on Roman needing to 'chill'." Logan said.

"He does need to chill." Simon sighed.

===============

I Made Eggs

September 18th 2018

===============

"Noooooo, get back here and love me!" Simon called after Patton when he stood to wake up Virgil.

"Sorry kiddo, I just need to wake Virgil up. Could you try to find the others so we can all have breakfast together? Tell them I made eggs." Patton said apologetically as he walked towards the beds. Simon got up from where he was laying on the couch and walked outside to find the other four idiots.

"Hey idiots, breakfast is ready!" He yelled to nobody in particular.

"You don't need to yell, we're right here." A voice from around his calf spoke up. Remy and Emile were sat on the ground next to the van. They seemingly had been scrolling on Remy's phone, while his arm rested across Emile's shoulder. Simon rolled his eyes at them.

"Do you guys know where the others are? Pat needs them." Simon asked them, but they both shrugged.

"I'm sure they're here somewhere, do you need help looking for them?" Emile offered but Simon shook his head.

"I can find them. Thanks Doc."

He walked around the van to keep looking for them.

And find them he did.

Nearly eating each other where they were pressed up against a tree. Neither was wearing a shirt, and their hair was messed up, which was extra weird since they cared the most about their appearance out of all of them (apart from maybe Remy). Most importantly, he found them with their tongues down each other's throat. "Guys what the fuck." Simon just said, which made them jump apart.

"Shit shit shit. Um. Simon, hi. You- you weren't supposed to see that." Roman stuttered out. Simon scoffed at them. Logan was looking for his shirt. He still had his tie on, for reasons Simon didn't want to know.

"Yeah, no shit. Otherwise you would've just done it in the van." Roman and Looked shot each other an uneasy look and Simon groaned. "Please tell me you didn't do it in the van." He said with his eyes squeezed shut. The silence continued for a bit before Roman inhaled deeply. Simon opened his eyes again and saw that Roman was about to say something.

"We didn't-"

"Bullshit." Simon cut him off. He could always tell when someone was lying. Logan had somehow managed to make himself look decent again and was now shoving Roman's shirt into his arms while trying to fix his hair for him.

"Logan, please stop touching him and go inside. Breakfast is ready. Not that I still have an appetite."

"I am sorry, Simon." Logan said as he brushed past him.

Bullshit.

"Please don't tell the others. It's not like that. We're not like that." Roman said pleading. Simon almost thought he could sense some sadness in his voice, but he brushed it aside.

"Fine. Whatever. Just find more discreet places and stop doing it in the van. People eat there, man."


	6. Open Invitation // Slightly Off

===============

Open Invitation

September 18th 2015

===============

"So, what do you wanna do now?" Roman asked once they were sat on his couch. They'd been the first to leave the bar, and Virgil was eternally grateful that Roman suggested they leave. If he had to spend any more time with Simon Menti, he just might strangle him. Oh sure, the others may think they barely know each other, but there was plenty of history between them. But Virgil didn't want to think about that right now because Roman had fished his copy of The Lion King out of his Disney pile and was now feeding it to his DVD-player.

"Y'know this was based off of Hamlet?" Roman asked Virgil as he fiddled with the buttons. Virgil scoffed at him.

"Of course I do. You're not the only one who likes theatre, Princey." He remarked.

"Mm, just checking." Roman hummed as he joined Virgil on the couch. There was still plenty of room between them, which Virgil was thankful for since he wasn't always comfortable with touch, but they were close enough that it would just take one small move for them to be pressed together. Roman pressed play and put his arm on the back of the couch as an open invitation.

It took half an hour but eventually Virgil decided to just take the offer and scoot closer to him. He was about to lay his head on Roman's shoulders before he realized he should probably take his piercings out. It wouldn't be the first time that a shirt got stuck in them, and the last time wasn't a pleasant experience.

Roman had looked over when he felt Virgil recoil. "Is everything okay?" He asked, worry in his voice.

"Yeah but I don't wanna get your shirt stuck in my piercings. This may take a while." Virgil told him as he started fiddling with the first one. It's moments like these that he really regretted-

Holy shit.

Roman just took his shirt off.

Never mind, no regrets. Virgil just shrugged and laid his head on Roman's shoulder.

"Movie's done." Roman murmured into Virgil's hair some time later. Virgil just nodded.

"I should probably go." He whispered back.

"You could stay, I don't mind." Roman replied. He loosened his grip on Virgil somewhat. "My bed's big enough."

"And you have no ulterior motives whatsoever." Virgil remarked. If he'd had his eyes open, he would've rolled them. Roman gasped in mock shock.

"How dare you accuse me of only wanting to sleep with you."

"You're lucky you're so warm or I would've slapped you right now." Virgil mumbled. It was true, Roman was like a portable heater. "But sure, I don't have to get up early. I'll stay."

They were quiet for a few moments.

"But I don't have sex on the first date, so don't try anything."

"Duly noted. Does that mean there will be more dates?"

"Depends on how bad your morning breath is."

===============

Slightly Off

September 18th 2018

===============

Virgil went outside after breakfast, not surprised to have Logan join him. He usually did. They'd just sit and talk for a while. They'd always been a pretty good team; they understood each other. "So, what's going on. Because you may say you're fine but I know you're not, L." The pianist had been slightly off for weeks at that point and Virgil had definitely noticed. Logan seemed reluctant to talk about it.

"It is nothing important, Virgil, I assure you."

"Bullshit. I know you better than that, L."

"It's insignificant in the grand scheme of things."

"We all are, Logan. That's what being human is. Now tell me what's wrong." Virgil put an arm around Logan's shoulder. Logan leaned his head back against the van.

"I promised not to talk about it." He said to the sky.

"I'll keep my mouth shut. Please, Logan. It's not healthy to keep shit inside."

"Someone already found out today, I can't imagine Roman would be happy if I were to also tell you."

"What did Roman do this time?" Virgil loved Roman, he really did, but he could be kind of a dumbass sometimes. Logan shook his head and was quiet for a while longer, as if he was trying to find the right words.

"It's not what he did. It's who." Logan finally said.

"Oh..." Virgil just said. Sure he and Roman had had a thing for a while, but it didn't bother him anymore who Roman slept with, right?

Wrong.

"I slept with him Virgil. I've been sleeping with him since the Fourth of July." Virgil noticed Logan getting less formal as he confessed. "And I don't love him and he doesn't love me. It started out simple but lately..."

"Lately it's been feeling weird and you think you may have developed feelings but you tell yourself that there's no way because you thought you were incapable of loving someone like that, especially someone like him."

"Yes. How did you-"

Virgil chuckled and shook his head. "That's a story for another time. For now, you have to tell him."

"And what, exactly, would I tell him?"

"The truth."


	7. The Zoo // Fumbling

===============

The Zoo

September 21st 2015

===============

"Good morning Patton." Logan greeted as he got into the other's car.

"Morning! How was your weekend?" Patton asked as he started driving again, this time heading to Roman's place.

"It was adequate. I mainly spent my time reading. How was yours?" Logan replied, which caused Patton to launch into a long story about how he went to the zoo with his cousin and everything he saw there. It was a cheap tactic but it worked; prompting Patton to talk meant that Logan could lose himself to his thoughts for a little while longer.

Suddenly both of their phones buzzed. "Oh that's probably Ro. Could you check it?" Patton asked, waiting for Logan to read him the text. It was indeed Roman.

_Hey, is it okay if Virgil rides with us?_

The text read. Logan quickly informed Patton and sent back that that was fine. "So has Virgil been there since Friday? Or did he just spend the night last night?" Patton questioned out loud.

"We'll ask them when we see them." Logan assured him. "But anyways, the zoo?"

"Oh right well then we moved on to the lions and they..."

Patton kept talking as Logan continued wondering about Virgil and Roman. It was a shame, he was starting to enjoy Virgil's company. Oh well, everyone knew Roman always found some reason to break up. It wasn't that he did it on purpose; he just wasn't ready for a relationship and he refused to acknowledge that. Idiot.

Virgil was wearing the exact same clothes he had on Friday and his makeup looked off, almost as if he'd used different products than usual. The two got in quickly.

"Do we have to pick up Simon or did he leave early again?" Logan asked.

"He left early." Roman told him. The two had been living together for a year but Simon was never home on weekends and he always left early for work on Mondays, which meant they never picked him up on Monday. They were all quiet for a little while before Roman spoke up again. "Look we know what this looks like-"

"You leave me out of this, Princey, you're the one that caused your reputation, not me." Virgil interrupted him. Logan rolled his eyes at the two.

"So what happened? You two have fun?" Patton asked as innocently as he could. Roman groaned and buried his face in Virgil's hoodie.

"We did but not like that." Virgil explained. "And also, I think you broke Roman."

"It is just highly unusual that we actually meet one of Roman's dates." Logan told him. Virgil raised an eyebrow.

"So I'm one of many, huh?"

"No, you're not. I promise." Roman said, though it was kinda muffled in the hoodie. "You're different."

===============

Fumbling

September 21st 2018

===============

And god, wouldn't Logan have given anything to be different. Because fuck, he was stupid. He didn't know he was capable of such idiocy. Sure, he'd done other dumb things in the past, but falling in love with Roman De Naraja was at the top of the list. Definitely the top of the list.

And now here he was, in a closet with said singer, neither of them wearing much as they practically attacked each other.

"We should stop doing this." Roman whispered while Logan sucked marks into his chest. "I can't go on stage like that." He continued, making no movement to stop Logan. "What will the fans think?"

"Well then maybe you should get more naked so I don't have to remain limited to your chest." Logan bit at him. Roman immediately started fumbling with his belt, though it was a bit hard in the cramped space.

"But we should really stop doing this one of these days, Lo." He said again as the threaded his fingers through Logan's hair, pulling slightly. "Because I know we started doing this because we were lonely and," Roman needed a moment to breathe as Logan looked up at him from where he was sat on his knees on the floor, "fuck, get back up here." Roman groaned as he pulled Logan up by his hair, smashing their lips together as soon as they were at the same level again.

"And I think I'm in love with you, Logan." He finally whispered.

Logan pulled back and shook himself free from Roman's arms and hands. He fumbled behind him for the doorknob and turned it as soon as he found it, running out of the closet, ignoring Roman's yells behind him. Shit shit shit.

He was sat in Virgil's dressing room for some reason, unsure of where else to go. And besides, that was where the keyboard was, and if there was one thing that could calm him down right now, it would be playing. Luckily for him, he had to be on stage at 8 PM.

Wait.

Shit.

7.58 PM.

Logan was late. Remy would have his head.

He dragged himself to the stage, immediately being pushed on by Remy, no questions asked about his lack of a shirt or tie or where he'd been, but the look in Emile's eyes warned him that the questions would soon follow.

But for now, he had to push it all aside. He had to push Logan Kishili aside and become Logic. And he had to be friendly with Anxiety and disagree with Morality and hate Deceit and bicker with Creativity. And that was all that mattered.


	8. Weak // Tweets

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Weak

October 18th 2015

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Weak. That was the word Roman was looking for. Virgil made him feel weak. And it could be good, sure. But sometimes it made him feel small. When he was reminded that Virgil had been through so much, and Roman hadn't been there to protect him. Because it had been a month and they were sat on Virgil's bed, watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. And Virgil had his hoodie off, showcasing the tattoos and scars running up and down his arms. And little bits of inked skin were visible through his ripped shirt, and Roman could clearly see the burn marks on his neck as Virgil rested his head on Roman's shoulder. And he couldn't do anything about it because the people that had hurt him were dead, and nobody could take those scars away.

Virgil cuddled into his side some more, and that made Roman feel weak in the good way. Because it made him feel weak in his knees and his heart, because it had been a month. It had been a month and they were still happy, and that didn't happen to Roman. It always ended far too soon. But right now, with Virgil in his arms, he felt that any time would be too soon. He felt Virgil slump against him even more as his breathing evened out. Roman reached his hand up and started running it through Virgil's hair as he pulled the blanket up around them more and turned off the television.

There was glass on the floor and the air smelled slightly foul. One square foot in the corner was trash-free, the rest of the floor was covered in everything and nothing. The corner only held a guitar. It wasn't too expensive, but still seemed to be the most important thing Virgil had. Apart from his hoodie, that was.

And there was a hole in the wall above the bed that had been filled up with a bunch of old papers that looked to be rather important letters. The windows didn't have any curtains and the moonlight lit up the room as Roman wondered how anyone could live like this. In a broken house.

Then again, a broken house was better than a broken home.

===============

Tweets

October 18th 2018

===============

A month. A whole fucking month where Logan and Roman didn't talk to each other. Not privately, at least. They talked when in a conversation with the others, but it was awkward. Logan had seemed to return to the emotionless robot Roman had known before they started fooling around, and Logan had allowed himself to show his emotions more.

Roman, on the other hand, was being incredibly productive; he'd written an entire album, answered a lot of fans' DMs, learned to play the piano (thanks to Virgil), got Emile to teach him how to massage someone, learned a lot of things about world history from Patton, started drinking coffee, and learned some things about politics and economy. Yeah, he had never been that productive, and he wasn't even doing something he loved. In fact, that seemed to be the one thing he wasn't doing, now that he and Logan couldn't stand to be alone in the same room. They weren't even bickering on stage and online anymore, and fans had started to pick up on it.

Dear lord, had they picked up on it.

Theories were circling the internet, the one even more outlandish that the next.

The thing was that most of them were pretty close to the truth.

The fans knew about Virgil and Roman's past together, knew how and why they broke up, knew how distant they had been for a while after that. So, they figured it had something to do with that. Maybe Roman and Virgil had gotten back together and Logan didn't approve. Maybe Logan and Virgil were together. Maybe, just maybe, Logan and Roman had broken up. They weren't completely true, of course, since you'd actually need to be in a relationship to break up. But God, did it hurt whenever Roman had to log into Twitter and see tweet after tweet about him and Logan.

All five of them ignored the tweets, which only raised more suspicion.

And Roman was thankful that they did. He really was. Especially now that Patton also knew the truth. He'd cornered Roman and asked about why everything was so weird all of a sudden. And nobody could deny Patton.


End file.
